1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to stringed instruments and, more particularly, to a novel guitar composed of a high strength-to-weight ratio material such as metal that not only improves the musical characteristics produced by the instrument but permits the user to more easily hold and manipulate the instrument during a performance.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
It has been the conventional practice to manufacture stringed instruments such as guitars from common materials such as wood and plastic. The guitar includes a body provided with a resonance means and an elongated fret board having a plurality of fret locations arranged in fixed spaced apart relationship. The strings of the instrument are stretched across the body and fret board and anchored at their opposite ends so as to be tensioned whereby plucking of the strings causes vibrations thereof to pass into the body and fret board producing a variety of overtone resonant frequencies.
Musical characteristics produced by the instrument are largely dictated by the accuracy by which the fret bars are carried on the fret board in accurately spaced apart relationship, the shape, depth and relationship of the resonating means with respect to the overlying strings and the particle movement of the instrument composition caused by vibration induced by the plucking of the strings. Furthermore, the composition of the body and the fret board is extremely important in producing sustained sound. Furthermore, although construction material such as wood and plastic are considered to be light weight, considerable thicknesses and mass must be utilized in order to provide sufficient density and particle movement to obtain desirable musical characteristics. Thus, such stringed instruments are large, bulky and cumbersome to use during a performance on stage.
Therefore, a long standing need has existed to provide a novel stringed instrument which has improved musical characteristics particularly with respect to the length of time that the strings and body vibrate as well as providing improved or increased resonation and true tone. The improved instrument is to be of light weight construction and of lesser physical dimension than is conventionally used so that the instrument may be readily carried and manipulated by the performer on the playing platform with ease and freedom.